'Vikings' star urges end to ritual whale slaughter

In a new PSA for Sea Shepherd, actor Clive Standen declares 'Real men don't whale.'

Clive Standen, best known for leading roles in the television dramas "Camelot" and "Vikings," is front and center for a new Sea Shepherd PSA spotlighting the horrors of the annual whale hunt in the Danish Faroe Islands.

“I may play a merciless Viking on TV but there’s no place for such barbaric behavior in the 21st Century,” says Standen. “Join me in making whaling ancient history once and for all.”

The 32-year-old actor goes on to detail the slaughter, known formally as the "Grindadrap," which targets and kills over 1,000 long-finned endangered Pilot Whales. Started back in 1584 as a means to provide food for those living in the Faroe Islands, the event today is nothing but a blood sport; with Sea Shepherd reporting that much of the meat is never consumed due to unsafe levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxins and other contaminants.

“The ‘Grind’ may have begun centuries ago, but humanity should have evolved over the last 400+ years,” said Sea Shepherd USA Director, Susan Hartland. “Barbaric ritual hunts of whales have no place in a so-called civilized society. Today, these animals are under countless human-induced stressors — pollution, loss of habitat, by-catch, whaling and more. We can’t keep taking them in such numbers and not expect negative consequences. We can’t keep mindlessly killing like primeval barbarians without thinking about what sort of legacy we are leaving for future generations,” she added.

To learn more about the hunt – and how you can help the Sea Shepherd pressure Denmark to stop this needless blood sport – jump here for more information.